Read this newsletter in Adobe Acrobat format
or Word document



OCTOBER , 2006

1 Harvest Celebration
2 Reception Classes
3 Parents’ Evening
4 Summer Library Scheme
5 Travel Plan
6 Mufti-Day – 6th Oct
7 Walking Bus
8 Test Results
9 Diary Dates

Autumn is on its way – reminder to children to bring coats to school.

1 HARVEST CELEBRATION
Our Harvest Celebration this year will take place on Wednesday, 11th October. Once again we will be supporting our local community by providing food products, such as tins, fruit and vegetables, to Grangemead Resource Centre and Hare Lodge. We will also be supporting Christian Aid who help people struggling against poverty to build a better future.

We would very much welcome your contributions and ask that the infant children bring in produce and the junior support Christian Aid.

Our Harvest Celebration will be led by Reverent Stan Tomalin and the children will be involved with songs, poems and sharing some of their work. We have sent out a special invite to Year 1 and Year 3 parents to join us on this occasion.

2 RECEPTION CLASSES
It has been absolutely great seeing how well our new children have settled into school. They are a lovely group of children who I know will enjoy themselves with many opportunities at Hawkes Farm. As a new parent, please do come in and see us if you have any questions or concerns. We are here to help both you and your child.

3 PARENTS’ EVENING
A reminder that you will receive a letter in the next week about Parents’ Evening. The reception class parents are asked to sign up their appointment time on the board by the reception classroom. We us this to then book the remainder of meetings for the rest of the school. Once you see the board out, please do sign up as soon as you can, particularly if you have siblings in the school.

Parents’ Evening is on Monday, 16th October and Wednesday, 18th October.

4 SUMMER LIBRARY SCHEME
Clare Morley from the Library Service was in school presenting certificates to the large number of children who took part in the Summer Holiday Reading Challenge. Well done to everyone who took part. This was open to both infants and juniors and ran during the August holidays.

5 TRAVEL PLAN
We sent out a questionnaire to parents in the Autumn of 2005 to find out about your concerns regarding travelling to and from school. The Travel Plan was presented to the Local Education Authority in the Spring, 2006 and finally approved by the Department for Education and Skills in July, 2006. Yes, a very long process! I am please to say that now this has been accepted we have received funds to help provide cycle racks and a place for scooters/bikes, etc. Please keep up to date with development on our website www.hawkesfarm.co.uk

6 MUFTI-DAY – FRIDAY 6th OCTOBER
The children’s School Council have organised a mufti day on Friday, 6th October in support of the ‘Jeans for Genes Day’. A separate letter explaining the details has been sent out from Mrs Burbidge and Mrs van Dijkhuisen (Yr 4 and Yr 1 teachers respectively).

If you have any concerns please do come in and speak to us. Reminder about the Year 6 meeting for parents on 11th October at 6pm in the Junior Hall.

7 WALKING BUS
Walk to school month starts on 2nd October. Reception – Year 5 will have already received a letter from Caroline Wilson (Walking Bus Coordinator) to take part in a competition as well as an invite to try out the ‘Walking Bus’. IF you need more information from Caroline, please contact her on 01323 847135.

8 TEST RESULTS
We would like to share with you our current success in the 2006 summer term National Tests. Please remember these are unvalidated and the validated results will be available in December. However, we are confident that there will be no, or very little change.

Key Stage 1 – Year 2 pupils
Maths Level 2 99% Level 3 42%
Reading Level 2 95% Level 3 25%
Writing Level 2 90% Level 3 20%

Key Stage 2 – Year 6 pupils
Maths Level 4 83% Level 5 42%
English Level 4 82% Level 5 42%
Science Level 4 94% Level 5 55%

Once again we are extremely proud of the high attainment and achievements of all the pupils. I would like to thank all the teachers and staff for the effort put in to ensure children reach their full potential. These are very good results, with particular high scores for the more able at Level 3 (infants) and Level 5 (Juniors). Well done everyone.

Mrs V Cobb
Headteacher

9 DIARY DATES
Fri 6th Oct Genes Day (event organised by the children’s
School Council)
Wed 11th Oct Harvest Festival
9.00 am Infants
9.15 am Juniors
Year 6 Meeting for parents – 6.00 pm
Fri 13th Oct FoHF Pumpkin Disco – 6.00 pm
Mon 16th Oct Parents’ Evening 3.30 – 6.00 pm
Wed 18th Oct Parents’ Evening 4.30 – 7.00 pm
Fri 20th Oct End of Term 1 (Autumn Holiday)

Mon 30th Oct Inset Day – Staff Training PSHE/PE
Tue 31st Oct Children return to school for Term 2

Please see website for provisional Christmas dates and term dates.